Part 2- Baja More Pictures

Part 2- Baja

On the second day we got up early because we were planning on going golfing at Catalina Island. I was hoping that the way it was scheduled would be that Matt and I could be a couple at a different tee time than everyone else that was golfing. I have only really been golfing a few times and was just more interested in being with my hubby and spending time with him than the game itself. Well we met in the lobby and me the "golf pro" for the ship and he told us that there were only 2 other guys that were going to be golfing so it was going to be a fivesome. Great! That meant that I am going to have 3 other men, people that actually know how to golf, watching me as I swing and try to hit the ball. I was thinking I was going to be so embarrassed! So we left the boat and got into a little boat that took us to the island. We rode in a taxi to the club house and got our carts and a few drinks for a long the way (Dr. Pepper and water) although one guy we were with drank 10 beers during the course of 18 holes. I couldn't believe he could still hit the ball!! The course was so beautiful and was so green and pretty. Matt said it was the by far the nicest course he has played on! They had a few women's tee boxes so I was excited for the slight advantage. I knew I would need all the help I could get. The golf pro, Jordan, helped me out and gave me quite a few pointers and didn't make me feel like an idiot. In fact all the other guys didn't make me feel dumb either. I had a few good hits and quite a few not so good hits, but we had a really great time. The weather was so nice about 60 and we were loving it. Loving the fact that we knew we had left snow behind and were enjoying "short" weather! Golfing took us about 6 hours and after that we walked around the little town and got a few souvenirs and then we went on a glass bottom boat and saw quite a few fish coming to get something to eat from the people on the boat. It was kinda dumb, but it was inexpensive and after spending $218 on golf, I wasn't looking to spend too much more on a shore excursion at Catalina. After the glass bottom boat we headed back to the cruise ship and got something to eat at the 24 hour pizza place and the lunch buffet. (There is not a shortage of food on the ship!!!) We walked about the boat for a little while and rested in out room. Then we got ready for dinner. Monday night was elegance night so we dressed up and went to dinner. I had lobster and shrimp and Matt had Prime Rib. It was the best meal of the cruise!! After dinner we went and listened to some Karaoke. It was hilarious. It is so funny how people act after they have had a few drinks. The lady hosting the karaoke called it "liquid courage" it was fun! We again were tired from a long day of being out and about. I don't know why, but we just couldn't seem to get caught up on sleep. Tomorrow we are going to be in Mexico!

Baja California Part 1

Matt and I got home from our vacation on Thursday night and it has taken me a few days to get back to normal and to not feel like the world is swaying back and forth. So today I decided to recap most of our vacation, that is if the kids will let me!
Day 1
We left on Sunday morning about 8:30 and the weather here in town wasn't too bad, just really windy. When we got just outside of Pocatello it started to get bad, by the time we reached Malad we were behind a snow plow and were only going about 35 mph. I thought for sure we were never going to get to Salk Lake and we would miss our 1:45 flight to California. Well the weather continued to get worse and it was probably the worst storm we have driven in all winter and here it was the end of March. How pathetic is that. You could only see about 1/4 mile ahead of you so it was pretty scary. It seemed to get worse as we got into Salt Lake city. It would clear up for a second and Matt and I would get excited and say to each other this is good, a plane can take off in this right. Then it would start up again and just be horrible! I was so nervous to not make the plane because we had to be on the boat 1 hour prior to its debarkation and we were scheduled to arrive in California at 2:40, factoring the time it takes to get the plane landed and gather our luggage and then be shuttled to the port we had about 1 hour of lee-way(not sure of the spelling) so it was going to be pretty close. Well we finally arrived at the Airport in 3 1/2 hours! Got our vehicle parked and shuttled to the terminal. Got our boarding passes and our baggage checked and we had about 45 minutes until the plane was scheduled to leave. As we were sitting in the terminal I was just watching flights that were supposed to leave and noticed that quite a few flights had been delayed. I was sure hoping ours wouldn't be one of them. Well I thought too soon. Just a few minutes later our plane was delayed waiting for flight crew to arrive from a previous flight. That snow storm in Salt Lake had delayed flights from all over the country and messed up the flights for the rest of the day. So the plane was delayed about 45 minutes. I was stressed!!! What if we missed the ship and had paid all that money and we didn't get to go on the cruise!! I was really freaking out, ask Matt! Finally the plane boarded at 2:30 and we were supposed to be in California by 3:30 their time. So I thought we might make it okay! The flight was alright, pretty bumpy and it wasn't a big jet so I felt the turbulence a whole lot more than usual. We landed about 3:25 and were hurrying to meet the shuttle that was supposed to take us to the pier. Well they weren't there (which I was totally mad about. I paid $32 for someone to be there to shuttle us and they weren't there!!!!) So we ended up taking a taxi that only cost us $10 and was supper fast. He got us there in about 10 minutes. So it would have been cheaper to take the taxi. Next time we know!! We got to the dock and got checked in and found our room and all was good! We made it and we were on the boat in time!! Yay! Let the fun begin. After getting situated we walked around the ship to see what is was like. Holy cow could I feel the rocking. It didn't take long before I was sick!! I had taken some ginger pills for nausea and motion sickness, but the hadn't kicked in yet. The ship was so huge!! and I am sure it wasn't one of the big cruise boats!! The ship had 5 or 6 bars, 2 dining rooms, a pool area with a slide, a casino, a spa, a gym, a game area, mini golf, basketball court, a lounge, and a show room! I am sure I am missing some things but oh well. I thought it would take me a few days to not get lost! We were scheduled to have dinner at 6:00 and were seated at a table with 2 other couples. That first night we didn't talk much to them. It is kinda awkward at first. Matt had a steak and I have herb chicken breast with pasta. It was pretty good. We were pretty lazy the first night and didn't stay up for the late show. I was tired from the time change and getting up early to get everything ready to go. So I went to bed and Matt went to the gym and the sauna for a little while. That is the end of day 1. I think I am going to do a different post for every day. That way I can include most of the pictures and give my hand a break from typing!

On Our Way

Well today I am finishing packing last minute things and tying up loose ends before we leave TOMORROW on our Cruise. We keep telling each other how excited we are and that we can hardly believe that the time has come for us to be leaving. When we decided to go on a cruise back in November, March seemed like a long ways a way. But here it is and I think we are ready. My mom is watching the kids for us while we are gone and I have everything is ready and set up at her house ready to go. All she needs now is the kids. I felt like I was taking half of the house over there, but I just wanted to make sure she would have everything she needed. Isn't that how it always goes when you have kids. There is no such thing as packing light. There is supposed to be a snow storm coming tonight and so I am a little nervous about the road conditions for tomorrow and hoping that there won't be any delays in the flight plans as well. If we miss our flight we might not make it to the dock in time and miss the ship. Wouldn't that be so awful!!! I guess I am a little bit of a worrier and think of all that could go wrong. I just have to keep telling myself that everything is going to work out and we are going to have a great time!! I can't believe that Matt and I have been married for 5 years! The time has truly gone so quickly. It seems like just yesterday he was getting off of a plane from his mission and now here we are 5 years and 2 kids later. I am so lucky to be married to such a wonderful man and I am so looking forward to spending some alone time with him for us to fall in love all over again!! I love you Babe!!

Scrapbook Vacation

Well I got home last night from a weekend full of scrapbooking and fun. I went for the weekend with my mom and sister to a scrapbook retreat about an hour from home. We went with a group of about 20 women, none of which we knew when we got there. We got right to work when we got there on Friday morning and by then end of that night I had completed 15 pages. I stayed up until about 2:30. After a couple of hours of sleep I woke up and started up again. I was trying to accomplish my goal of 30 pages for the weekend. By the end of the 2nd night I was on page 29. I knew that I would hit my 30 page goal. On day three we only had about 5 hours to scrapbook before we needed to clean up and get home, but I managed to get my 30 done plus 3 more. I did 33 pages in 2 days (I say only 2 days because by the time we go there and the time we left it was only about 48 hours of scrapbooking.) I was so excited to have gotten that much done. I am almost caught up with Paige and Parker from their births so that makes me very happy. I still have several years from my childhood and Matt's to get caught up on, but in due time I know that I will get those done too. We had a great time laughing and visiting and scrapping our hearts out. You should have seen the place with 20 women who all brought their supplies, there was so much scrapbook stuff in the room, probably thousands of dollars worth of stuff. We even had a hard time getting everything in 1 vehicle, it was packed full. Matt watched the kids while I was gone, the first time I have left Paige over night and the first time he had been alone with both kids for that amount of time. He did really great, the house was even clean when I got home, what a great hubby! Paige was so excited to see me when I walked thru the door, she clung to me the rest of the day, afraid I would leave her again. And Parker even said to me "mommy not go again." I think he missed me too! It was nice to have a little break from the everyday monotony of things and to do something for myself. Now I have 5 1/2 days to get ready for our vacation! We are really excited and after this last weekend I know that the kids will be okay without me, or rather that I will be okay without them!

Girls Day

On Thursday night I had a few friends and their kids over for a play date. The ladies made some cute hair bows while the kids played and kept themselves entertained. We even let the kids have a sleepover and the ladies watched chick flicks. We had a great time together. The next day one of my best friends (who had stayed over) and I went shopping and had a great time. I think we each spent too much money, but Paige's birthday is coming up along with Easter so I justified the shopping that way. I got a bunch of really cute clothes for the kids for the summer and even a few things for me for our vacation. It was really a fun time to be together with friends and to reminisce about our high school days and to catch up on what has been going on in each other's lives. We need to get together more often. I am so glad you came Anne and Melissa!!! Oh what was Matt doing when all of this was going on, well he worked a 16 hour shift on Thursday so he wasn't around. When he got home from work he crashed because he had worked a 16 the day before as well. Then on Friday him and a few of his friends went golfing in Buhl. I guess the weather there was really nice and he had a great time. He really had the golfing bug, and I am hoping that will satisfy him until the course here opens. The kids were surprisingly pretty well behaved during all of this, but were excited to see their dad after not seeing him for almost 4 days. Boy does he work alot! I just wanted to post a few pictures of the bows that I made with the help and instructions of my friend Anne. I think this will become a new hobby, that is just what I need, another thing to take up more time and money. Well it is fun and makes the long lonely days pass more quickly. And Paige will look so darling in them as soon as she gets more hair!!

Our Vacation

I can not believe that we will be in sunny California in 24 days!! We are so excited, I can't believe that this month is finally here. It seemed like so far away when we booked the cruise and now it will be here before we know it. Matt and I are looking forward to spending some alone time together without the kids and re-getting to know each other. We don't go on dates very often so it is a rarity that we are actually alone so it will be fun. I am sure you all are tired of reading about this, but this is like a journal for me and I just want to remember how excited we are about our first cruise!

We are sure looking forward to spring here at our house. The kids are going crazy being inside all day long. Last night I went to a friends house and the kids were so good. I think they were having fun being somewhere different and having different scenery, and toys to play with. I am so looking forward to warmer weather so we can go on walk to the park and have picnics outside. And despite how much I complain about Matt and his golfing, I am excited for him to be able to get out and have some fun of his own away from work and school. Parker can hardly wait to go golfing with his dad. I am glad that he enjoys that and that Matt is willing to take him along for some father son time. There is one thing about spring that I am not looking forward to and that is... SPRING CLEANING!!! I hate the list of things that need to be done, but I know that after they are finished, I will feel so good about our house and how clean it is. I love the feeling of a clean home!!!